Song of The Whale Diary-25th - 29th June 2006

25th June 2006
We start the day with a fresh breeze pushing us northwards towards colder waters where we hope to find blue whales.  In the small hours we spot some humpback whales and we hear sperm whales on the hydrophone, but still no blues.  We press on into slowly deteriorating weather, the wind coming and going, so sails are up and down a number of times.  By the afternoon, the weather can best be described as utterly miserable, with cold drizzle blowing into our faces as we continue our search.  Fortunately, all the boat’s heating systems are working well and the pleasures of returning below deck after a four hour watch cannot easily be described.

The high frequency hydrophone, which we use for detecting ultrasonic clicks from harbour porpoises, has been blowing fuses and has become unusable. The hydrophone elements are all in solid moulded sections at the end of a long cable, making investigation of the problem impossible. The hydrophone's depth sensor has also been acting up for some time.  Hoping that these problems are related, we cut off the pressure sensor which is fortunately at the end of the hydrophone cable beyond the acoustic sensors.  This seems to solve the problem and we are able to continue collecting data.

Around lunch time, one of our interns slips on the ladder to our A-frame lookout and injures her knee.  There is a cut that is too deep for treatment on board, so we head in to Olafsvik where she can receive medical attention from a doctor.  We arrive at around midnight, only to be thwarted by a 4m high vertical ladder to the dock, which we can hardly expect her to climb with an injured leg.  Even the doctor doesn’t want to climb down it to see her!  All is not lost though when we inflate the Zodiac and ferry her across to a low pontoon.  By 3am, she has been seen by the local doctor and is on her way home with a friend, we’re soaked through and short of sleep, but glad that all is OK with her. There seems little point in going straight out with such poor visibility and we need both fuel and water.  Magnus closes the hatches against the rain and puts all the heaters to maximum.

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26th June 2006
In the morning we take a few ours of extra rest after the previous night’s adventures.  The day is spent taking care of a few issues with the boat.  Paul goes up the mast to check the rigging.  The condition of the mast and rig is very important to us since we use the sails as much as possible during research, as well as the passages, thus saving fuel and engine hours.  Ellie goes to the local swimming pool to clean herself; we’re restricting the water use on the boat to one shower every two days so every opportunity to have a shower is welcome. 

Tim goes and talks to the local whale-watching operator and gets some useful information where to look for whales.  In the afternoon we get fuel and water. At 1800 we’re steaming out of Olafsvik to explore an underwater gully that extends southeast from the Snaefjell peninsula.  The whale watch operator told us that this gully is the most likely place to find whales and frequently blue whales come all the way into Breidafjordur.  We have the first sighting just outside Olafsvik, not whales but a couple of white beaked dolphins.  But a few hours later the hydrophone picks up some sperm whales. The depth is only 250m, which is very shallow for an animal usually living in a couple of thousands of meters of water.  Tim is tracking the animals for some hours before we lose them in the twilight night of Iceland.

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27th June 2006
Written by Ellie
I mostly work in the London office for IFAW, so its great to be out here and experience how life onboard Song of the Whale really is and to find out more about what the team does. Two things spring to mind initially – first, its an amazing experience and second, it's really hard work!  From the outside it could appear that the team has an ‘easy life’ but I quickly realised that life onboard Song of the Whale isn’t what you would choose if you weren’t really committed.

Tuesday began for me at the crack of dawn – which is about 2am here in Iceland at the moment!  I awoke for an early watch.  Initially I lay in bed feeling like I needed another 10 hours in bed, but as soon as I saw the stunning sky I was wide awake and surprisingly delighted to be up!

I had a lovely sighting of white-beaked dolphins, which came in really close to the boat.  Up until today, I have only seen them from afar, but today they seemed to want to ‘check us out’.  They really are beautiful animals – so incredibly agile.

After lunch we saw an enormous blow on the water and found that we were in the company of two huge fin whales.  The day then got even better when we had an encounter with a basking shark.  The second largest fish, this elusive species feeds on plankton; unfortunately basking sharks are threatened by hunting.  IFAW doesn’t work directly on basking sharks at present, so we will give the data to another organisation to use.

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28th June 2006
Written by Clodagh
Every day is so unique in this line of work.  We never know what to expect when out searching for whales or when and where we might come across them.  But based on the information Tim received from the local whale watchers about the gulley, we investigate this area again and today we have better luck.  It seems too good to be true.

It begins at around 0900 hours.  Doug and Magnus are on the A-frame keeping lookout, Tim is on the helm and I am monitoring the acoustic and sightings data (if and when we receive any).  The day is gloriously sunny, though a cold northeasterly is blowing, and the water is a little choppy. Conditions are good.

I hear sperm whale clicks very clearly over the hydrophone.  The screen shows there is more than one animal.  The clicks continue.  With that information we are then able to track and locate the animals and soon enough a decision is made to head over to them.

We take down the main sail and go find the whales under motor.  Maneuvering the boat with the assistance of the engine is far easier in such a delicate situation.  We do not want to risk colliding with the whales.

The acoustic data is set to the speakers on deck so we can all listen to the animals beneath us.  At this stage, everyone is up preparing video and camera equipment and recording sheets.  Once the clicks stop, we know that at any moment a sperm whale will surface.  And sure enough one does!

The animal is huge!  (Males average 49.5 – 59 feet in length).  Claire gives me a digital camera immediately and I go up onto the A-frame and start taking pictures of it’s back.  The aim is to get the animal’s dorsal fin and it’s blow hole all in the one frame so that we can get a length measurement of the overall body size.  But of primary importance is the whale’s fluke (or tail). Pictures of the fluke are crucial for photo id.  It’s shape and any distinctive markings or notches between the trailing edges can help distinguish one animal from another.  Whales raise their flukes when they are about to dive, so getting good shots in that moment is paramount.  I click away happily but am lucky as all the animals are extremely cooperative.  We encounter about 8 animals that day.  It has been very successful.  Claire takes some great close up shots of the whales from the bow and Paul manages to video the day’s events.

By mid-afternoon we decide to move away, give the whales some peace and go check out another area south of Olafsvik.  With no luck of sightings we change course and head north again into port.

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29th June 2006
After an exciting day with a lot of sightings we sail into Olafsvik in the evening due to a bad weather forecast.  We also had to drop Doug of to the bus station for he is getting married (poor chap).  

After breakfast, everybody starts cleaning the boat from the top to the bottom.  Mopping, washing and doing the laundry.  After a few hours of cleaning, people had some time off.  Despite the forecast the weather inland isn’t that bad, so most of us go for a walk or a swim in the local pool.  We order takeout pizzas for dinner and then desperately but unsuccessfully try to find some football to watch.  We have an early night as we plan to leave early on Friday morning.